Just thought of something, by "joint" account do you mean that you are a signature on the account? The money in the account is all mom's but you have the ability to sign checks, etc for her. But all the $ is hers. The account is her SS #. That is different than having an account in which your income & mom's income goes into so that the funds are co-mingled. What is the situation for the account?
Joint accounts are problematic when you apply for Medicaid. The total amount in the account tends to be viewed as mom's asset 100% for her Medicaid review. And she will be fully expected to spend-down her funds to whatever the income & asset limit is in your state for Medicaid. Unless you are really good at book-keeping and documentation, you really will need to get an elder law attorney to work with you to figure out just what funds are mom's & yours and provide the documentation needed so that you don't spend-down your $$ or have to deal with transfer penalties. Also SS really hates it when funds are "co-mingled" and if they find out, they can make you have to do the whole representative payee route for your mom. If you can go and open up your own bank account and start putting your income into that account asap.
In general for Medicaid, they have to be "at-need" financially. Usually it is 2K in assets and whatever your state has set for monthly income, plus whatever is allowed as exempt assets (their home, a (1) car, term life insurance policy, a NCV funeral & burial policy plus some other items). Each state manages & administers their Medicaid program in a unique way but under an overall federal guideline. Also although most folks concentrate on the financial aspect of Medicaid, the applicant also must be able to show the need for skilled nursing care. Just because they are old, or need help doing things, or have memory issues is not enough. They have to have the medical file that shows they are "at-need" for skilled nursing services. Good luck.
In general for Medicaid, they have to be "at-need" financially. Usually it is 2K in assets and whatever your state has set for monthly income, plus whatever is allowed as exempt assets (their home, a (1) car, term life insurance policy, a NCV funeral & burial policy plus some other items). Each state manages & administers their Medicaid program in a unique way but under an overall federal guideline. Also although most folks concentrate on the financial aspect of Medicaid, the applicant also must be able to show the need for skilled nursing care. Just because they are old, or need help doing things, or have memory issues is not enough. They have to have the medical file that shows they are "at-need" for skilled nursing services. Good luck.